This invention relates to the art of drain cleaning apparatus and, more particularly, to improvements in connection with transmitting torque to the drain cleaning cable in such apparatus and directing and feeding the cable into a drain or waste line to be cleaned.
Drain cleaning apparatus of the character to which the present invention is directed is generally comprised of a motor driven snake or drain cleaning cable drum in which the drain cleaning cable is wound about the axis of the drum and is rotatable therewith. The drum has an open front end through which a free or outer end of the cable extends for entrance into a drain to be cleaned and, in order to optimize the torque transmitted to the cable by rotation of the drum, cable guide tubes have been provided in the drum, or the inner end of the cable has been clamped to the drum. Guide tube arrangements are structurally complex and require somewhat complicated mountings in the drum, and cable clamps require mounting holes through the drum which leads to water leakage relative to the drum. While it is preferred to avoid the foregoing problems by eliminating the guide tube or not attaching the inner end of the cable to the drum, the result is that the slippage between the cable and drum restricts the transmission of torque to the cable by the drum and thus restricts the magnitude of a blockage which can be broken up or cleared with the apparatus.
The snake or drain cleaning cable in such apparatus, as is conventional, is an elongate, flexible member made of tightly wound spring wire, and the free or outer end thereof is adapted to be pulled from or pushed back into the drum in which the cable is stored during periods of non-use. In many such apparatus, the drum, or a cable cartridge within the drum, can be removed to facilitate connecting successive lengths of cable for feeding into a waste line, or for using different diameter drain cleaning cables with the apparatus. Often, drain cleaners of the foregoing character not only require that the cable be manually pulled or pushed relative to the cable drum housing, but also require the operator to manually bend or flex the cable in order to direct it into the entrance of a drain or waste line to be cleaned. Even though an operator may wear gloves, whereby his or her hands are protected from dirt and/or abrasive contact with the drain cleaning cable, such protection is not obtained in the absence of gloves and, in any event, pulling, pushing and flexing the cable into position is inconvenient for the operator.